Iridium Flare Over Lake Dillon

Iridium Flare Over Lake Dillon, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

I managed to catch a bright -3 magnitude (-7 at center) Iridium Flare on Saturday night on a camping trip at Lake Dillon to celebrate Father's Day with my in-laws. The flare occurred at 22:53:37 and can be verified by the Heavens Above website Iridium Flare calculator here.

This is my third Iridium Flare to catch by luck when doing some night photography. For those new to them, Iridium Flares are caused by a constellation of highly reflective communication satellites (Iridium system) that regularly and predictably glint off the sun.

Seeing Forever For Over One Hundred Years

Seeing Forever For Over One Hundred Years, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

A perfect vanishing point road bathed in the golden last light of the day leads to a century old farm near Carr in northern Colorado. I'm sure in other parts of the world that hundred-year old farms are probably common, but in state settled so late they are a pretty big deal and rare.

Big changes are coming to this area though, recent oil finds in the Niobrara Shale Formation have set off an oil rush, the likes of which we have not seen in NE CO in my lifetime. It's still a bit too early to tell how big this is going to get, but I've seen figures indicating billions of dollars in oil development is likely on the way. For those of you in Colorado, now would be a great time to begin documenting a boom as it happens.

Elegant Trogon Sighting!

Elegant Trogon Sighting!, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

I've been hoping to see an Elegant Trogon ever since my parents moved near Madera Canyon in SE Arizona, and on our second visit Madera delivered! We even got to hear their awesome odd frog-like song that goes Ko-ah, Ko-ah. What a spectacle of a bird!!!

These tropical birds only make it into SE Arizona (prefering "Madrean sky islands") and a small patch of SW New Mexico-- making them very special and rare in the United States. For nesting they often use old woodpecker cavities (there are plenty of these in Madera). In the U.S. portion of their range they migrate and don't often return until April, so this was a lucky sighting indeed!

Cathedral Park Spires in Autumn

Cathedral Park Spires in Autumn, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

Cathedral Park in Teller County, CO is well known to the locals for its fantastic rock spires. I was impressed with how the depth of the valley was revealed from this elevated point of view.

A Christmas Meteor Light Show: The 2010 Geminids

A Christmas Meteor Light Show: The 2010 Geminids, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

The Geminid Meteor Shower may well have been 2010's very best! How many meteors do you see? And notice the meteor radiant around the constellation Gemini?

It took until around 3 am, but the clouds finally parted and we did indeed get to enjoy a beautiful Christmas meteor light show as it were. My preferred dark skies location with a nice foreground got completely clouded out and we ended up near Tie Siding Wyoming. I stayed out taking pictures until the morning twilight was killing off too many stars and we got home around 6 am. What a kick!

Shot Notes: This is a composite image of all the meteors I captured between 2:56 a.m. and 3:34 a.m. Each streak is added by lightness blending mode in CS5 much like star trails stacking is done. The camera was locked down on the tripod the entire time weighted by a bag of rocks to protect against the crazy wind. Each exposure was for 24 seconds at f/3.5, ISO 2500. 13 exposures were used in the composite (this time series was a total of 73 exposures). The camera was aimed at the meteor shower radiant to get the most Geminids possible in order to show off how aligned meteors of the same shower really are.

The Pike's Peak Cog Railway at 14,115 Feet (4300+ m)

The Pike's Peak Cog Railway at 14,115 Feet (4300+ m), originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

I think I can, I think I can... ;-)))

This historic railway has been in service for over 100 years and holds the title for highest cog railway in the world. At it's top point it offers exceptional views from the summit of Pike's Peak (where this image was taken). It is an Abt rack system cog railway that is now operated year-round much to the delight of railroad fans and tourists alike.

Four Minutes of West Creek Falls

Four Minutes of West Creek Falls, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

I have always enjoyed the almost ethereal surreal qualities a long exposure can pull out of a scene. A ten-stop B+W neutral density filter allowed me to leave my shutter open for over four minutes here thanks to very overcast conditions.

2010 Perseid Meteor Shower Composite

2010 Perseid Meteor Shower Composite, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

This composite image features the meteors from the Perseids that I caught in roughly an hour of shooting time last Thursday night near peak viewing. You can clearly see the meteors are all traveling along the same line from the Perseid radiant (located near the "Double Star Cluster" of Perseus), a hallmark of meteor showers.

Shot Notes: I set up in Teller County, CO at the Dome Rock State Wildlife Area parking lot. Light pollution was pretty strong but I still managed to have a fun night out! I shot a total of 207 frames at 3200 ISO, f/3.2, 17 seconds for this series. The composite was constructed from 9 of those shots. Two frames provided a bit of foreground illumination/interest via two passing car's headlights and the rest featured the seven meteors you see here. I caught other meteors but they are not included due to likely not being a Perseid or being obscured by clouds. With luck I will upload a time-lapse video and you all can see the clouds and light pollution I was contending with. ;-)))

Lake Agnes in Evening Sunshine

Lake Agnes in Evening Sunshine, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

This classic cirque lake is located just below the Continental Divide in Colorado State Forest near Cameron Pass. Rising behind Lake Agnes is Mt. Richthofen, the tallest member of the Never Summer Range at 12,940 feet. Richthofen rises on the NW corner of Rocky Mountain National Park. The south and east faces are in the park. The north and west faces are in the Colorado State Forest. Such a amazing area!

Milky Way Trails Above Purgatoire Canyon

Milky Way Trails Above Purgatoire Canyon, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

The Caprock Canyonlands area in SE Colorado offers some of the best night sky in the state for viewing the Milky Way. The color of the star streaks relate to the temperature of the star, with blue being the hotter and red the cooler overall.

Image Notes: For this star trails image I used 195 consecutive 30 second (97.5 mins worth) exposures stacked via brightness blending mode in PS. Then an image I light-painted was used for foreground detail, manually blended via luminosity and hand-painted masks. This shot was taken very near the location of my previous posting, only the angle was adjusted to keep the Milky Way in center at the start of the series.

Sundown at Running Deer Natural Area

Sundown at Running Deer Natural Area, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

Fort Collins is truly blessed with a plethora of natural areas open to the public to explore. It's nice that basically right in the middle of town we still have places like this for inspiration (and photography!).

Flying Nectar Faery

Flying Nectar Faery, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

A Black-chinned Hummingbird hovers near a nectar feeder at my sister's place in southern Colorado last summer.

Strobist Notes: used 4 flashes positioned around the area I was expecting action in order to get the most detail. Once that was set up it was simply a matter of cracking open a beer and sitting on my sister's porch with a view waiting for things to happen. I sometimes think bird photography is my version of fishing. ;-)))

Looking Towards Lunar Laguna Beach

Looking Towards Lunar Laguna Beach, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

The Gulf of Mexico in the Florida Panhandle amazed me with its tropical blue waters and white sugar sand beaches. Here's a view from near Camp Helen State Park looking towards Panama City, FL. Ahhh, moonshine. ;-)))

Sunset Season on the Front Range

Sunset Season on the Front Range, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

Sparks Lake: Ray Atkeson's Muse

Sparks Lake: Ray Atkeson's Muse, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

Ray Atkeson was an amazing primarily black and white photographer that was Oregon's first and only Photographer Laureate (he was also brilliant in color). He said his favorite photography location in the state was here at Sparks Lake. He passed on in 1990, but you can still view his work here. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Ray not just for his beautiful images, but also for the conservation they helped to inspire.

Heceta Head: The Oregon Coast's Nightlight

Heceta Head: The Oregon Coast's Nightlight, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

Sunset High and Lonesome

Sunset High and Lonesome, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

The Elkhead Mountains of Colorado are some of our least traveled. Found north of Craig, mostly only hunters know this area for it's high level of wildlife. It also happens to be one of my favorite areas in Colorado. Truly divine!

2009 Perseid Meteor Shower in the Colorado Rockies

2009 Perseid Meteor Shower in the Colorado Rockies, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

I trekked up Cameron Pass to enjoy the peak of this annual treat of an astronomical event and got away with some keepers, even with the moon! I can only imagine how bright this nice fireball meteor would have been under a moonless sky. I saw 69 Perseids total between 10 pm - 3:30 am MST.

Worldwide Photowalking Fort Fun Edition

Worldwide Photowalking Fort Fun Edition, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

The Fort Collins contingent met on a hot Saturday afternoon at Colorado State University for our part in the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk (over 30,000 walkers worldwide!). I sure had fun meeting you all!

This one is of a fountain next to the Engineering Building that honors Elwood Mead (the same guy lake Mead is named for). I've copied the plaque's inscription below for easy reading in case there's interest.

Elwood Mead
1858-1936
As a member of the Colorado Agricultural College faculty between 1883 and 1888, Elwood Mead established the first instruction in irrigation engineering to be offered by an American college or university. This work provided the foundation for Colorado State University's internationally recognized reputation in water-related research, teaching and service.

Blue Me Around A Tree

Blue Me Around A Tree, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

So I found this amazing celestial blue centering device out in the grasslands.... no actually what you are looking at is a nearly 40 year old man wrapped up in blue LED Christmas lights (tiny AA battery powered ones from the dollar store) running around a tree in the middle of nowhere at 3 am as fast as he can with out falling down. Yeah, I know. ;-)))

Of note for this shot is that Mars and Venus form a triangle on right with the Pleiades Star Cluster/Seven Sisters. And I need to check my camera's clock. I am thinking since it was showing first light this was actually taken at 4 am.